The Best Lobster Rolls in Boston

The Best Lobster Rolls in Boston

I come from a family of shellfish pickers. My mom and aunt grew up on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, where blue crab feasts are a way of life, and my aunt lived for many years on Cape Cod, where we’d spend summers eating lobster and hot buttered corn just about every night. I’ve been jamming my fingers into crustacean crannies since before I knew how to use a fork. We don’t judge people on much, but I think I can speak for my entire family when I say that we measure the worth of a person by how well they clean their shells of meat.

As much as I love meticulously dissecting my meal with my bare hands, I have a deep, deep appreciation for what lobster rolls offer, namely, the opportunity to devour hunks of sweet, tender meat right away, without any work at all. That they’re seasoned and dressed in either mayo or warm butter and served on a toasty top-split hot dog bun is just gravy. Really good gravy.

We’ve already given you our favorite lobster rolls in New York City, and Kenji has written at length about what goes into the very best mayo-dressed and warm buttered lobster rolls, with recipes. Now we’re casting the spotlight on Boston, unofficial capital city of New England, and, therefore, a place where visitors understandably seek great lobster rolls.

Well, after countless lifetime visits and, more importantly, a very recent one with my colleague Max focused on finding the best lobster rolls (along with the best ice cream), I’m going to be frank: Boston is not a great lobster roll town.